


A Measure of Life

by emc257



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Greek Mythology - Freeform, M/M, Reverse peresphone/hades au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:46:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3342419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emc257/pseuds/emc257
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the god of death Levi demanded a certain amount of respect but when someone challenges him, he finds himself powerless for the first time in his life. Taken from the life he had come to know, Levi must struggle to free himself or accept his fate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Matter of Respect

**Author's Note:**

> Notes:
> 
> So I would like to start off by saying that I was inspired by a post on tumblr for this story. The title may change because I am not very happy with the current one.
> 
> I really want feedback on this so please leave kudos and comments either here or on my tumblr awildtitanappears I want to know if the writing makes sense and the story is appealing.
> 
> Also this is a very loose retelling of the Persephone myth expect with a twist.  
> Other than that please enjoy.

When the universe had been divided Levi had been slotted with what was thought to be the short end of the stick. He had been sent to rule over the underworld and all that entailed, namely the dead. All of the gods felt the need to remind Levi how awful his lot was, being sentenced to live an isolated, miserable, lonely life, how none of them could even imagine it. Even after many life times had past it was still the same. It was not uncommon for Levi to have other gods barge into his realm just to tell him he was lonely and needed to get out more.

He had built a large kingdom for himself. He had complete control over all that happened in his realm, letting him build a world catering to his every whim. To distance himself from those he ruled over he built a large, grandiose palace in the center of the realm, the river Styx parting its course to flow around the palace. The white marble contrasted the darkness of the rest of the realm.

The center of the underworld was mountainous, Levi's palace resting in a valley. Styx ran its course around the palace so Levi could over look souls entering the underworld from the comfort of his throne room. The palace had many courtyards where nothing grew. As hard as Levi tried he could only get grass and a few trees to grow anywhere in the underworld. He was not surprised that the realm of the dead would be devoid of even plant life. Instead Levi had large statues and ponds filling his courtyards. He had even diverted a small stream front Styx to run through the center of the palace.

Even though Levi was the only one that officially lived in the palace he built it to large and roomy impressing every god and soul that visited. Levi himself had painstakingly decorated each of the many rooms in the palace in order to properly show off his wealth, power, and status.

His throne room though, but the rest of the palace to shame. It was a huge room, with high walls that had carvings that depicted how Levi and the other gods had defeated the titans that had ruled the universe before the gods. The throne itself was made of black marble, covered in soft furs collected from all over the earth. The size of the throne alone was enough to intimidate, it actually forced Levi to shift his size in order to properly fill it.

He was currently lounging in the throne, laying across the furs so that he had his legs thrown over one of the arm rests, and upper body hanging over the other, head tilted back, eyes close. He was about to drift off when the ornate stone doors crashed open.

“Is your throne so big to compensate for other deficiencies?” The annoying crackle of his second in command rang throughout the throne room, echoing off the walls.

Levi suppressed a groan, but did not open his eyes. Whatever Hanji had to say, had to be good in order to get him up. He had long since left the dirty details of running the underworld to Hanji, who seemed to take infinite pleasure in having almost complete control over forcibly willing test subjects. The only thing she had to do in exchange was make sure Levi had to do as little work as possible.

“You literally ask me that every time you come in here.” Levi said in a bored tone. His life was starting to become so repetitive it was becoming unbearable. That was one thing the other gods hadn’t warned him about. Even the once random visits by the other gods, became like clockwork.

“I am sorry to disturb your clearly very important business, but I do actually have a situation.” Hanji said as she approached the foot of the throne.

“Then I suggest you bore someone else with the details.” Levi said in a dismissive voice, waving his hand weakly.

“I would but we have a potential situation on our hands.” Hanji said remaining at the foot of the throne. “Souls are returning to their bodies.” Hanji said seriously.

Her words didn’t phase Levi though. It was not totally unheard of for souls to return to their bodies after he had claimed them. It was normally some god granting a favor to a follower who had tried especially hard to please them.

“And why should that concern me? It was probably just Erwin.” Levi said although finally opening his eyes.

It had annoyed him at first when the other gods had given souls their life back without so much as telling him. Once a person died, they belonged to him and he did not part with what belonged to him lightly. For every soul that a god had ‘saved’ Levi had claimed a hundred more. Finally Erwin had decreed that no god could free a soul without talking to Levi first, it had not escaped Levi’s notice that Erwin had left himself out of the deal, not that Levi minded anymore.

“That’s what I assumed the first few times it happened, but just now Petra told me that three souls left all at the same time. Even Erwin wouldn’t dare to go that far.” Hanji said finally getting Levi’s attention. He sat up straight in his throne, letting one of the furs spilt on to the floor.

“Then he has grown bold, but he is still the only one brave enough or stupid enough to challenge me.” Levi said.

He made a mental note that the next time Erwin made an appearance to remind the King of the gods that he held no power in the underworld. Clearly his friend was growing complainant. Levi could tell Hanji was not convinced, but dismissed her anyway. The demon had reluctantly left her king alone, where he went back to lounging on his throne, but he couldn’t get comfortable this time.

With a resigned sigh, Levi stood up descending the throne. The long black cloak Levi wore over his silvery grey tunic, dragged along the steps as Levi slowly made his descent. No matter how hard he tried he could not change the chilling cold that was always present in the underworld. He and the other living beings that occupied the underworld had just taken to wearing cloaks all the time to make up for it.

He walked down the main hall of his palace appreciating his own work. On the walls hung tapestries showing all of the wars fought in the humans’ realm. The hall was lined with a blood red carpet. Statues of warriors lined the walls. Erwin had told him it was obnoxious the first time the blond god had seen it, but Levi thought he was just jealous. With a flick of his wrist the doors leading out of the palace opened.

He exited his palace stepping into the waiting boat. He floated down the river, watching as the different ring of the underworld went by. The souls that he collected were separated based off of how they lived their life. Levi had carefully crafted each ring to appropriately punish or praise each soul. The boat stopped when it reached the mouth of the river and the edge of his realm. He carefully exited the boat standing on the rocky shore where his sentinel stood watch over souls entering the realm.

“I take it that Hanji told you about the freed souls.” Petra said with a small smile that Levi did not return.

“I have been informed.” Levi said simply. Petra nodded knowingly.

“I wanted to know what you knew about the souls.” Levi asked.

“You want to know if I knew where they went.” Petra said. Levi remained still. “I watched them go, but I felt them leave the earth’s realm, from there I don’t know where they went.” Petra said in a concerned voice. Levi frowned at that. If it were really Erwin than Petra would have been able to see the souls reach their bodies.

“How long had they been dead for?” Levi asked. It was important to know how fresh the souls were because that might clue Levi into why a god my have claimed them. With that Petra frowned looking down the river were souls floated by.

“They were here just long enough to pass by your palace.” Petra said concern in her voice, which sparked Levi’s interest.

“You think that was intentional?” Levi asked. That was an interesting thought. Every soul that passed through the underworld went by Levi’s palace so it was not like it was something that made these souls stand out. But it seemed Petra suspected something.

“Yes. Lately souls have been leaving at an alarming rate as no souls should be leaving so three at once just as they pass you is suspicious.” Petra said.

Levi nodded letting the demon know her thoughts had been noted. With that he returned to his boat, floating back into the underworld mind lost in thought. It irks him that someone thought they could disrespect him in this way, but he did not know enough information to go barging into Olympus demanding retribution. He had to handle this with a level mind in order to strike at the right moment. He needed to find out before hand which god specifically was challenging him. He may have been right in his initial suspicion of Erwin who tended to forget that while Levi was his friend he did have limits.

Over the next few weeks Levi kept a closer eye on the souls that entered into his domain. He found himself interacting with the souls in a way he had long since neglected. With his increase presence it seemed more souls started to leave. It was not uncommon for souls that he spoke to only hours before to be freed. He was starting to see a pattern, but not all the souls he talked to were claimed.

Everyone was a very recent death, only occurring within a week of being reclaimed. This was what made Levi believe that it still might be gods returning souls to followers, but the amount was alarming. Still he kept up the appearance of compliancy to try and draw out the culprit.

He was sleeping one night, when the stone doors to his chambers slammed open rousing him. He sat up prepared to attack the intruder, but relaxed when he recognized the familiar glow of the King of the gods. He sat back into the nest of furs and pillows that littered his bed, holding the fur of a black bear around his shoulders.

He studied his old friend, whose broad body was covered by a white tunic with golden trim. He wore a golden cape that shone like the early morning sun, lighting up the normally dark room. On the blond locks there sat laurel crown of gold to complete the look. Levi had often told Erwin that he was trying too hard to look regal, but his friend had just laughed it off. Whatever Erwin wanted had better be good, since it had required him to interrupt Levi’s sleep.

“Levi. I need a favor.” Erwin said in a commanding voice. “A prince was wrongfully killed causing the humans to go to war and I fear that they might not make it through. Allow me to return the prince’s soul and end the bloodshed.” Erwin continued. Anger flashed in Levi, making him stand dropping the fur. He was wearing a black tunic that ended at his knees, but ignored the fur.

“So you finally thought to come and ask for permission. What caused this change of heart? Don’t tell me you haven’t gained a conscience since the last time I saw you.” Levi hissed walking to stand angrily before the king, who looked down at him confused.

“I have no idea what you are talking about Levi.” Erwin said concern in his voice.

With a bright flash, Levi used his power to send Erwin flying into the stonewall. While some might consider Erwin to be the most powerful of the god, in the underworld it was Levi who held all the power.

“Don’t lie to me.” Levi hissed materializing a sword in his right hand. If Erwin insisted on lying to him he was not above using violence to get his way. “You have been freeing souls almost everyday without so much as a warning.” Levi yelled.

Erwin quickly picked himself up from the floor where he had fallen; holding both hands out in a sign of submission. The look of utter confusion on his friends face was enough to make Levi pause for a moment. He may have been wrong in assuming it was Erwin after all.

“It was not I nor any other god of Olympus. You know we honor the agreement we struck.” Erwin said a little desperation creeping into his voice.

It was this not the actual words that satisfied Levi. He knew his friend was a skilled lair so that fact that he was clearly concerned enough to drop his façade had Levi believing him. He allowed the sword in his hand to disappearance from existence and took a step away from Erwin to show he did not mean to attack.

“That does nothing to alleviate the fact that souls have been freed.” Levi said annoyance back in his voice. He turned away from Erwin to return to his bed. Now that anger was not fueling him, he began to feel the cold again.

“This is very concerning information. How long has this been going on?” Erwin asked following Levi across the room. Once he was wrapped back up in furs, Levi answered.

“A few weeks now. I actually spoke to the soul you are trying to free. I am surprised that it was not sent back.” Levi said. It was true that he had spoken the very soul Erwin referred to earlier that day. Knowing the situation Levi was even more concerned about that fact this souls was not returned. Clearly the culprit was not doing this for the benefit of the humans, which made Levi wonder about their motives.

“I will have a meeting to discuss this with the rest of the gods.” Erwin said thoughtfully.

“No.” Levi quickly said, surprising the blond. “I want to learn as much as I can about the god doing this and if you scare them into hiding I may not get the chance to call them out.” Levi explained. The blond nodded in understanding. “As for the reason you actually came here today it is already down.” Levi said with a wave of his hand freeing the soul. Erwin nodded and started to retreat out of the room.

“Please be careful Levi.” Erwin said as he reached the doorway. “There is something about this that feels off. The person behind this may be after you, the souls only being a means to reach an end.” Erwin warned before leaving Levi to return to his sleep.

Over the next couple weeks Levi had the demons following the souls that were freed hoping to have them led to the culprit. It seemed like the person was aware of his plan though, because the demons never found anyone close to the bodies. It seemed like at this point the person was doing this just to spite him.

As more time past and more souls were freed, Levi’s anger grew. Another thing that he noticed was that the souls were getting older with each one that got freed. Before it was only freshly killed souls that were returned but now some of the souls being claimed were days old. It was starting to alarm Levi. If the souls were dead for any longer there would be no body for them to return to. Whoever was doing this clearly did not care for the lives they were restoring.

As Levi was making his round he walked through purgatory where the souls still waiting to be judged waited. This was the only place in the underworld where the bad mixed with the good. Due to administrate error sometimes it took a while for a soul to get judge. He noticed one soul that had been waiting for weeks already to be sorted start to fade.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light as the soul flew out of the underworld. Levi cursed loudly. That was the first time a soul had disappeared in front of him and he could do nothing to stop it. It was time for him to find out who was doing this. He quickly made to follow the soul, Erwin’s warnings forgotten.

Levi followed the soul as it returned to its body. The soul left an energy trail that Levi was able to follow. Once he was on the earthly realm, he expected to find the body, but he felt him shift into another realm, one he had never been to before. He could not put a name to this realm, if that is what it really was.

It was not Earth or any realm he had been to before, or claimed a soul from before. The realm seemed to take the form of a vast garden, but Levi could tell the realm could not support itself. He could see the blurred lines where this realm ran into the others, as if it was using them to prop itself up.

He had been able to enter the strange realm, finding himself in an apple orchard. The rows of trees felt endless as he walked. The bright red, yellow and green fruit made Levi’s mouth water with the desire to reach out and pick one, but he resisted knowing that each realm had rules that governed its food. It was best to quickly find the soul and leave.

It was also very warm he noticed, turning to look up at the sun. This sun seemed to give off more warmth than any other sun he had encountered, especially the one in his own realm, which never seemed to contain any warmth. It was much too warm for the long silver cloak Levi was wearing, but he did not move to remove it, instead he just lifted the hood to protect himself from the light.

Leaving the orchard, Levi walked into between rows of corn, which seemed to stretch for miles. He had never seen corn grow so high, the stalks towering over him. As he walked he could feel dirt get into his leather sandal, he grimaced at how dirty he would be after this. The garden seemed to stretch forever, containing every fruit and vegetable known to man and god. While one might assume that the garden was endless, Levi could see just in his peripheral, the looming shadow of a dark wood. No matter how far he walked, he did not reach the woods that seemed to enclose the garden, but he knew that meant there was a physical boundary separating this realm from the others it bled into. Levi wondered if it was meant to keep others out, or something inside.

While the garden was beautiful, and clearly well tended to Levi noticed how empty it felt. He had been walking for hours, but had yet to come across any form of life other than plant; there was not even any animals lurking in the distance, Levi would have sensed it. He could feel a light breeze on his face that provided no relief from the heat that Levi was unaccustomed to. Someone must live in this realm though, Levi knew. The garden was too well tended to; he assumed there must be a village not too far off.

It was probably some witches and wizards that had been run off from their homes by scared humans. They probably built this pseudo-realm so they could live out their lives peacefully. Levi frowned. If they had wanted to do that though, they should have known better than to mess with what belonged to him. Once he found them, he would claim their souls.

He could feel eyes on him everywhere he walked. It sent a shiver down his spine, but every time he would look over his shoulder, or whirl around to catch the owner of those eyes, he found nothing. It made him feel like a deer being stalked by a wolf. No one had been able to make him feel this way in centuries. He felt vulnerable and he would kill whoever it was that made him feel this way.

He walked through a field of sunflowers turned to worship the sun. As he exited the field into a meadow of a kind of flower he had never seen before he noticed a body lying still in the middle of a bed of these bright blue flowers. Approaching the body Levi kneeled down to check its pulse, but was revolted by what he saw. He knew that the soul was too old to return to its mortal body, but the mostly decomposed body lying before him made him gag. He could see maggots eating away at the flesh, flies swarming the putrid smelling body. This was not an act of mercy, but an act of cruelty. Levi could feel the agony that the soul was in.

Resisting the urge to vomit Levi placed his hand over the eyes of the body and quietly claimed the soul again, feeling the wave of the relief as the soul departed the body for a second and final time. To insure this, Levi used his power to set the body on fire. Without a body no one, not even him could retrieve a soul from the underworld.

Unsure of how to proceed from there Levi stood up, watching the body burn slowly. He had been expecting the culprit to be with the body so he could properly punish them, but still there was no one to be seen. But this could not go on any longer. The souls of the long dead deserved to rest and who ever it was calling them out seemed not to respect that. Levi would have to put the respect and fear into them. With a wave of his hand, the fire and body disappeared.

A particularly strong gust of wind hit Levi in the face, knocking the silver hood off of Levi head.He could feel the same eyes that had been following him all day on him again, but this time it was different they felt much closer. He whirled around making the silver cloak kick up flying around his body as he turned.

What he saw confused him. There was a boy, Levi could not think of a more fitting description as the person looked so young. He was dressed in a dazzlingly white tunic that stopped midway down his thighs. The tunic was decorated with golden borders along the edges of the fabric, but the boy was too far away for Levi to tell what the ornate pictures depicted. The boy was unnaturally clean considering the earth all around them.

It wasn’t the clothes that threw Levi off the most, more the boy’s actual body. He had tanned skin, Levi assumed came from all the hours spent in the garden. Even from this distance, Levi could see the boy’s eyes, which momentarily stilled his breath. One eye was a mix of blue and green that reminded Levi was the ocean. The other eye stopped Levi's heart for a moment. It was a bright golden yellow that matched the sun above him. He had not seen an eye like that for a long time, not since the last Titan was killed. The eyes matched the boy's bright smiled that made Levi’s heart jump in a way it had never jumped before.

Levi lifted his foot to approach the boy, when the flowers around him released sweet smelling pollen. The wind picked up, swirling the pollen around Levi, who tried to hold his breath, but it was already too late. He went light headed, blackness creeping into his vision. As the dizziness forced Levi to his knees he noticed the boy calmly walking toward him. The last things he saw before he blacked out were those shining eyes and eerily bright smile looking down at him. He slipped into darkness the words "Welcome home, Levi" whispered by a silky voice accompanying him.


	2. Be Careful Who You Mess With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi learns what if feels like to be weak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all sorry to anyone who subscribes to this fic because you probably got like a million emails saying that it updated but the formatting keeps getting screwed up when it posts even though it looks fine in preview so I keep deleting it. So sorry.
> 
> Second thank you everyone who has left kudos and comments, I really appreciate them.
> 
> Also if you have any questions or feedback for me feel free to leave it here or on my tumblr awildtitanappears

All Levi could feel at first was an overwhelming warmth. The way the sun beat down on his skin, starving off the cold he had gotten so used to was a foreign feeling. His skin felt sticky as the sun clung to it, it was a disgusting feeling. It also worried him because it meant he was not in the underworld, which was odd because he rarely left the underworld long enough to fall asleep. Levi jerked awake as he remembered the events that had transpired, a pair of jeweled eyes haunting him.

He immediately sat up, making his head spin, blackness seeking to overwhelm him again. A firm hand reached around his arm, resting over his heart. It pulled him back into a laying position, his head resting on toned thighs.  The hand remained over his heart, while another weaved its way through his hair. The gentleness of the hand as it twirled his hair started to lull Levi back to sleep, but Levi forced himself to stay awake. It was all done in this gentle way that it felt oddly intimate.

He looked up to see mismatched eyes staring back at him. He tried to sit up again, but the hand on his chest kept him down. Levi felt weaker than he had ever felt before; a single hand was enough to keep him down when normally none would dare even touch him. People worshiped him as the strongest of the gods, having defeated and kill more Titans than any other god. It scared him that something had made him feel so weak, he had a suspicion that the reason behind it was smiling down at him.

       “I’m glad you are awake, Levi.” The silky voice said. Chocolate locks fell into the boy's face as he looked down at Levi.

       “How do you know who I am?” Levi asked harshly. The hand in his hair did not even pause as the boy laughed seemingly unaffected by Levi's attempt at being threatening . It was a light laugh, more like a giggle. Levi would have thought it was cute had the situation been different.

       “Everyone knows who you are god of death.” The boy said dismissively. The hand on Levi’s chest had relaxed, only the fingertips lingering moving in a circular motion around where his heart was. Levi’s stomach churned anxiously. He had never been this vulnerable he couldn’t even sit up.

       Levi turned his head so he would not have to look at the boy. He noticed that he had been moved. They sat in another meadow, but this one had nothing but grass and dandelions. It made Levi feel marginally better since he could actually recognize these plants. The long grass swayed with the light breeze that provided a little relief from the heat. Levi realized that his cloak had been removed leaving him in just his long black tunic that went down to his ankles.

       “While people know me, the same cannot be said about you.” Levi said watching as the wind scattered the dandelion seeds throughout the meadow. The boy giggled again.

“That is true, I have become lost to most.” The boy said still with the same silky voice, but this Levi thought he heard a different undertone, maybe a little sad. Levi could not see it but he was sure the boy still had that incredibly wide smile on his face. He waited for the boy to continue but he didn’t. Apparently he would have to ask the boy straight out if he wanted to learn anything about him or this realm. The hand over his heart still moved sending waves of an unfamiliar feeling through him.

Carefully Levi tried to sit up. This time he was allowed that much, the boy removing his hands from Levi just enough for him to sit up. He turned so he was facing the boy. Levi just could not get over the boy’s eyes. The green that bordered on blue one was normal enough, but it shone brightly which gave it a haunting quality. It was the other, golden eye that worried Levi. He had only ever known Titans to have eyes the color of the sun, but Levi and the other gods had eradicated them from the universe long ago. Seeing the eye brought memories back to Levi that were best forgotten.

The two sat in silence for a little while, the breeze providing the only noise. The boy seemed content to just stare at Levi, who tried not to make eye contact for too long. He could feel the boy's gaze on him making him shift uncomfortably in the dirt. Instead Levi let his eyes travel over the rest of the boy’s body. Before, the boy had been too far away from Levi to get a good look at him, but sitting this close to him Levi could see how young he looked.

His limbs appeared long even while the boy was seated; it was not awkward though because he sat with an air of grace about him. He had sun kissed skin that looked like warm sands along a beach. It some how fit the boy, as Levi could not imagine him pale like Levi himself was. The sun in the underworld did not give off heat, only light which had caused Levi to develop skin the color of snowbush rose.

The boy was toned, Levi had felt how strong his thighs alone were while he rested upon them. Levi assumed it was from tending the garden day in and day out. This boy seemed to be the only one that occupied this realm, which Levi thought was strange. An entire realm for one person was unheard of, even Levi shared his realm with demons and souls.

“Is there anyone else here, brat?” Levi asked harshly. He was not about to coddle the boy just because he was young. He saw a flash of annoyance pass through those bright eyes, before they went back to their gentle kindness. He wondered which part had offended him.

“Am I not enough for you?” He asked pouting. This threw Levi off.

“I do not even know who you are.” Levi said simply. The boy shifted closer to Levi and smiled at him as if nothing about this situation was off. The boy sat so close to Levi now, that he was leaning over Levi’s shoulder, mouth hovering right above Levi’s ear.

“But you will.” The boy whispered sending a chill down Levi’s spine.

A flash of fear paralyzed Levi for a moment, but the warm breath still on his ear snapped Levi out of it. Shaking Levi stood up and ran as quickly as he could, away from the boy and the meadow. He felt slow and sluggish as he ran. Normally his speed could only be rivaled by the god of speed himself, but now he felt as slow as a human. In that moment he felt no stronger or better than a human. He could not feel his usual power. There was something about this realm that had striped him of his powers as a god.

He didn’t look back as he ran, not wanting to see how close the boy followed behind him. Without his power Levi would have to leave the realm by foot. This realm bleed into all other realms Levi could feel, so it was only a matter of finding a way out. The woods always present in his peripheral vision seemed like the best option.

Running as fast as he could Levi tired to make it to the woods. He passed many different fields as he ran not bothering to look at the crops, his one goal getting out of the realm. It didn't seem like he was being followed though. The boy had an eye of a Titan so he must possess at least some sort of power so he should have easily caught up to Levi by now who felt like he was going in slow motion. Adrenaline kept him moving though and eventually he could see the woods growing closer. The realm had felt endless, but it had to end at some point.

There was no cover as he ran for him to hide himself. It would be easy for the boy boy to find him in all of the low fields. Even if the boy was following him, Levi would be able to lose him in the woods. Once he got away he would go straight to Olympus to tell Erwin what had happened. If the king of the gods would not give him retribution, Levi would have to use his army and March in this realm. The thought of needing a whole army to defeat just one boy was ridiculous but Levi did not trust the boy or this realm. He assumed that it was this realm that was keeping his powers at bay.

He approached the woods at a run, but as he got closer he slowed down until he was standing still at the foot of the woods. He turned to see if the boy was behind him but he didn't see anything but crops swaying in the wind. Not being able to see where the boy was, was almost worse than being able to see him because now Levi had an anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach, nervously waiting for the boy to appear. Now that he was finally at the woods, it was them that seemed endless. It stretched for what felt like forever in any given direction. The physics of the realm was giving Levi a headache. It also made him wonder again the purpose for the realm and the woods that bordered it.

Levi could feel his freedom within his grasp, but something kept him rooted to the spot where he stood. He could not bring himself to enter that woods. It was obvious to him that there was an enchantment on the woods, a strong one. They were unnaturally dark, the sunlight not breaching the tree line, but even from outside of the woods Levi could see something moving in the woods. He peered at the moving branches trying to figure out what kind of creature it was . It was then that he realized the purpose of the woods was not to keep others out, but to keep something in. He had easily been able to enter the realm but he could not bring himself to leave it.

“Its not for you.” A quiet voice said from behind him. Levi whirled around to see the boy standing only a few feet away from him. He stared at the boy who was not looking at him for once, but at the woods with sort of a melancholy look in his eyes. The usual brightness gone.  Levi decided that those eyes were not meant to look anything but happy.

“It's for you.” Levi said, speaking the words the boy had left unspoken. Those haunting eyes turned to look at Levi, he gave a small smile that did not reach his eyes. Levi wanted to ask why, but he couldn't.

“That is true, but it has worked to my advantage this time.” The boy said taking a couple steps toward Levi, who stepped back until he was right along the edge of the tree line.

“So you mean to keep me here against my will?” Levi asked angrily. The boys face contorted to one of distress that Levi did not believe, but his voice spoke so earnestly.

“I want you to want to be here.” The boy said in a sad voice stretching his hand out to touch Levi’s face who instinctively took another step back, putting him into the woods. He saw anger flash in those mismatched eyes making the fear that had rooted itself in Levi chest flare up. “This is for your own good Levi. I can’t let you leave.” The boy said moving his hands upward gracefully.

To Levi’s horror, the roots of the trees sprung up along with Eren’s hands sending dirt flying everywhere. Levi could feel dirt fall into his hair and all over his body. Not only was this boy kidnapping him of all people, but he also had soiled Levi. The boy twirled his finger, making the roots wrap themselves around Levi, binding him tightly. It felt like all the air was being squeezed out of him. Struggling to breath, Levi was unable to fight back against the roots, leaving him defenseless as he went limp in the roots hold.

He watched as the boy approached him, motioning for the roots to pull Levi out of the woods so he would not have to enter them. The boy had the sad look on his face again, but this time Levi did not care. He flinched away when the boy brought a hand up to his face. The hand was softer than Levi would have expected it to be considering that this boy probably spent most of his time working the land. It caressed Levi’s cheek. moving upward back into his hair. Levi realized the boy was getting the dirt and earth out of his hair, but couldn’t bring himself to feel grateful. He sneered at the boy trying to move his head away from him, but the boy just followed his motion.

“What are you going to do with me?” Levi gasped trying to get enough air to speak. The hand in his hair stopped.

“Well that depends on how you behave.” The boy said with a breathy laugh hand moving back to stroke Levi’s cheek. With that Levi passed out from lack of air.

The first thing Levi noticed when he gained consciousness was that he was laying on what felt like a bed, which was improvement from the last time he woke up. Levi groaned, his whole body hurting; his ribs ached and his lungs burned. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see his captor. He could smell something cooking and it made his mouth water. Seeing as the entire realm was just one faint garden it did not surprise Levi that the food would smell so heavenly.

Distance clattering let Levi know that at the very least the boy was not hovering right above him. He deemed it safe enough to open his eyes, blinking slowly to adjust to the light. He stared up at a wooden ceiling, looking around the room Levi found nothing to indicate he was being held prisoner. It appeared to just be an simple bedroom, apart from the bed the only other furnishings was a bedside table, adresser with a mirror, a desk and chair, and a wardrobe that had carvings along the sides, but Levi could not make out what they were. Looking at the floor he noticed a small red rug in the middle of the room but other than that it was just a wooden floor. The only feature that really stood out to Levi was the large window in the wall. It was large, taking up almost a third of the wall. It looked out into a field of corn. The long stocks swayed in the wind that Levi could feel coming through the window. He debated for a moment escaping through it but the pain in his lungs stopped him.

It was not the kind of place Levi would expect to find a god living, but then again he wasn’t sure yet what the boy. There was nothing about the room that was personal. He had hoped to learn more about what the boy was like, but the room was just empty. Just then the door to the room opened quietly, the boy walking in with a tray piled with food. He looked over to where Levi was laying and smiled.

“Oh, you are awake. That is good.” The boy said happily as if he was not the cause of Levi passing out in the first place. Levi did not say anything as he watched the boy walk over to the bed and place the try down on the bedside table, before walking over to the desk and pulling the chair up to the bed. He slid into the chair and smiled down at Levi. They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before the boy gestured to the food.

“I brought you something to eat.” He said as some sort of peace offering. Levi moved to sit up, resting against the headboard, head spinning a little. He did not move to touch the food that smelled so good, just eyeing it suspiciously. He did not trust the boy or the food of this realm.

“Who are you?” Levi just asked finally. He needed to gather as much information as he could if he even had a hope of a chance of escaping.

“My name is Eren.” He said. Levi repeating the name in his head. It seemed to fit the boy. When the boy did not continue Levi started to get frustrated. He had never heard of an Eren in any stories that the gods and humans told. This boy, Eren, was a nobody in every sense of the word.

“And who is Eren?” Levi asked annoyance lacing his voice. He saw the smile on Eren’s face drop, that was interesting apparently he had hit a nerve.

“That is the question isn’t it.” Eren said before standing up abruptly. Levi watched as Eren robotically walked out of the room. Levi briefly wondered if he had offended him, but he didn’t really care that much. It didn’t take long for Eren to return with a glass of water. “I forgot to bring you a drink, you must be thirsty.” Eren said with a smile as if nothing had happened. He placed the glass down on the try and sat back in the chair.

“You know I am not going to eat any of this.” Levi said gesturing to the food. Eren pouted like a child. “I can’t trust you or anything you touch.” Levi said venom dripping from his voice.  

“That makes sense, since no one trusts me.” Eren said bitterly, sparking Levi’s interest. Apparently Eren had a history of bad behavior. That gave Levi a smidgen of hope that he would be rescued once his demons noticed that he was missing for too long to be normal. If Eren had a history of kidnapping people, Erwin would know and could possibly save him. It would be murder to Levi's pride to accept Erwin's help but at this point Levi would gladly kiss Erwin's perfect golden ass for the next century of it meant going home.

"Look if I am going to have to live here you are going have stop answering all my questions so cryptically." Levi grumbled settling back into the bed. The look on Eren's face was so out of place that it almost made Levi laugh. Eren looked so elated considering all Levi had done was begrudgingly accept the situation he was in.

"Ok!" Eren yelled excitedly, clapping his hands.

"Calm down brat. You look like you are going to wet yourself." Levi said with a chuckle. It was funny to watch Eren try to contain himself, hands grasping at the edges of his tunic to keep from waving around. He nodded quickly blubbering that he was calm. The kid just wore all of his emotions on his sleeve which surprised Levi. From his interaction with the boy, Eren didn't seem like the kind of person who could kidnap someone, but here they were.

"You are really going to like it here. Everything grows so well and the animals are nice, although they have been hiding since you arrived which is weird since they are normally so friendly." Eren babbled.

Levi tuned him out, paying more attention to the way in which Eren held himself than the actual words. Before Eren had seemed kind of sad, but now he never would have been able to guess that. He had thought those eyes were bright before it was nothing compared to now. Levi vaguely heard something about radishes and cabbages and figured Eren was rabbling about his vegetables. He was clearly very passionate about his garden, which wasn’t surprising since it seemed that was all Eren had.

The longer Levi was in this realm, the more he realized this wasn’t the kind of place that people came often. The chance of someone accidently finding him was nonexistent. He wondered briefly if that was why Eren had kidnapped him. Levi was able to recognize the look in Eren’s eyes before; it was loneliness. He stared into the those mismatched eyes and wondered not for the first time what had made the boy turn out this way.

“What is with your eyes?” Levi said out loud effectively ending Eren’s tirade. The boy gaped at him, mouth hanging open as he looked at Levi not understanding. “How did you get those eyes?” Levi asked again more clearly. He watched as Eren went back to fidgeting in the chair nervously averting his eyes from Levi.

“This is from my mother.” Eren said quietly, raising a hand to touch his face right under his teal eye. He said in such a sad bitter voice, Levi wanted to ask about the boy’s mother, but it was the other eye that concerned him the most.

“And the gold one.” Levi prompted. Eren finally looked up at him, this time Levi could him battling to keep the rage off of his face. For a moment Levi regretted asking the question.

“This eye.” Eren said moving his hand to rest over his golden eye. “This eye is the reason why Erwin put me here. This eye is from my father.” Eren said uncovering his eye, looking at Levi to intently he thought that Eren could see through him. As the words snuck in Levi felt a shiver run down his spine.

  
  
  



	3. A Lesson in Domestication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi experiences life from Eren's point of view and comes to a few conclusions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is really late, school is kicking my butt right now. Thank you everyone for the support for this fic so far. I was not expecting any response so thank you. 
> 
> I really want to hear what you guys have to say. Like anything at all you can tell me you hate it (but please say it nicely) or you can tell me your headcanons. If you don't feel comfortable talking to me here feel free to leave me a message on my tumblr, awildtitanappears. I response to pretty much every message or comment I get and they always make me happy, so please talk to me.

It seemed like Eren was reluctant to leave Levi on his own, but based on the constant glances out the window Levi could tell the boy wanted to check on his crops. He probably assumed Levi would try to run away again if he let the god out of his sight. While Levi did plan on escaping as soon as possible, this time he was going to be smart about it. He already knew he couldn't escape through the woods so he would need to find another way. He doubted that the realm lacked any exits so it was just a matter of finding one.

Pretending to yawn, Levi scooted down in the bed, pulling the sheets up to his chin. Eren's eyes widened a fraction before the boy scrambled to get up.

"If you are still tires go ahead and sleep some more. I can show you around the garden later when you feel up to it." Eren said in an excited voice. He quickly grabbed the try of food Levi had elected to ignore. Levi had expected the boy to force him to eat the food or at least be offended at his denial of it, but Eren didn't seem phased at all.

With the door closed he could hear Eren moving around what he assumed to be a kitchen. It couple minutes passed where Levi muffled noises and had a mini heart attack when he heard steps gradually becoming louder. He quickly pulled the blankets up around his head and pretended to be asleep, forcing his breathing to even out. A shiver ran up his spine as the door creaked open.

The floor boards  squeaked under the boy’s wait as he tiptoed over to the bed where Levi could feel the boy hovering over him. He laid still fighting the urge to flinch away when he felt a hand run down his back which was facing Eren. Finally the boy retreated out of the room, Levi could hear a door open and close and then footsteps coming from outside the cabin fading out of hearing. It seemed Eren had finally gone to check on his crops.

Throwing the bed covers off, Levi sat up. He wasn’t sure how long Eren woudl be gone, but he intended to make the most of it. The first thing he did was check out the wardrobe which was full of long dark robes that were very much like the ones he normally wore. It seemed like Eren had done his homework.

Unsure of what he would find, Levi carefully opened the door to the room and found a moderately sized living area. He noticed a fire place which seemed impractical because he doubted that it ever got cold enough here to warrant a fire. Around the fireplace there was brightly colored rug with three chairs facing the fire. One of the chairs, a black leather chair looked new, while the other two looked much older.

One of the older chairs  was an ornate wooden rocking chair that looked like it had not been sat in for a long time, but still looked worn out. Along the top Levi noticed cravings showing the creation of the universe. Levi had to admit he was impressed with the work and wondered how such fine craftsmanship ended up in this cabin because he was positive Eren did not make the chair. The other chair almost looked like a throne, with a high back. It did not look very inviting and was a striking contrast from the other chairs.  

Along the mantle of the fireplace there was a row of books that Levi inspected. They were old, covered in dust letting Levi know they were not Eren's. Carefully he picked one out, opening it. To his surprise it was written in a language he thought long since dead. It was written in the titan's language which should have been wiped out with those mosters. The fact that Eren had these books only confirmed that he was at the very least half Titan. The desperation to escape swelled within Levi as he places the book back on the mantle. He need to get out of here and warn Erwin that one of the Titans had survived, if Eren could live so easily there was nothing to say that other Titans were not still sound.

The living area was connected to a small dining area that only had a small sturdy looking wooden table with five matching chairs sitting around it. From there Levi moved on into the kitchen area where Levi saw results of the garden. The cabinets and shelves were filled to the brim with foods that looked so good even in their uncooked states that it made Levi’s mouth water.

Overall Levi had assessed the cabin to be nothing out of the ordinary. It was just like the cabins that many humans lived and died in. The only thing that even hinted that anyone of value lived here was all of the ornate carvings in most of the wood. What threw him off was that each carving told a story about the history of the universe but it all stopped right before the war against the titans had started. If one was only looking at the cabin for their history they would not know that the titans had been eliminated from the universe.

There was only one other room that Levi had not inspected, the door located off the kitchen. He opened it slowly just incase there was something waiting behind it and when nothing popped out he confidently stepped inside the room. It was much smaller than the room Levi had been residing in. The bed and dresser took up most of the room, barely leaving room for the wardrobe.

The room had the most lived in feel meaning that it was Eren’s own room. It was not the same level of clean as the rest of the house, the blankets and sheets tossed haphazardly over the bed, the doors of the wardrobe open tunics hanging out, but it was not a chaotic mess. The only redeeming quality was the small window that overlooked a pond. Levi was surprised that Eren chose to live in this hole in the wall when he could have taken the other room. That was another thing he would have to ask the boy.

There had been no signs of Eren returning so Levi felt like he was safe in wondering a little bit outside of the cabin. He opened the front door and felt a warm breeze on his face. He let out a breath of relief not realizing how tense being in the cabin had made him. The patio was large and overlooked as little fenced in garden. Why there was a mini garden within the large garden escaped Levi, but he rolled with it.

The garden was different than the rest of the realm. It was filled with flowers that Levi didn’t know the name over that looked like they were heavily cared for. It looked like there was a hand dung little irrigation system weaving throughout the rows of brightly colored flowers.

Looking up away from the garden and the cabin, Levi observed the realm trying to place where he was but the horizon was endless making his chest constrict. Even with all this open space he felt like the walls were closing in on him. He felt like he was suffocating. Starting to hyperventilate Levi’s knees buckled, forcing him to the ground, hands flying out to prevent himself from falling face first into the dirt.  His fingers clawed at the dirt ignoring the way it worked its way under his fingernails. Hot tears hit the back of his hand, making him shake harder.

He froze when suddenly there were hands on his back rubbing gently. His head shot up too fast making blackness dance in front of his eyes. Blinking the dizziness back Levi looked up to see Eren squatting next to him, hands on Levi pulling him against his chest. Levi weakly pushed away from Eren who respect that, removing his hands, just squatting next to Levi waiting for his breathing to return to normal.

It took a good couple of minutes for Levi to regain his composure. When he finally felt in control again Levi sat back onto his ankles taking deep breaths. Tentatively he looked up at Eren’s face worried it would send him over the edge again or see pity in his eyes, but was surprise to only see compassion in those mismatched eyes it did not make the situation any easier. Looking back down at his hands, Levi finally noticed the dirt that caked them.

“Tch. Disgusting.” Levi said sneering at his hands.

“Here, follow me.” Eren said quietly taking Levi’s hands in his helping him up. Too dazed to resist Levi followed as Eren lead him to the pond behind the cabin. The water was still was clear to the point where Levi could see the bottom and all of the fish living there. They kneeled at the edge of the water and Eren started to gently scrub his hands of the dirt helping rid Levi of one of his anxieties, if only the boy wasn’t the cause of most of them.

The water was oddly cold considering how warm the sun was. A fish swam by always making contact with Levi’s hand making him flinch back, ripping his hands out Eren’s splashing them both with water. Levi felt his cheeks tint red with embarrassment when Eren let out a little giggle. He grumbled he turned his head so he would not have to make eye contact with the boy.

He hated how comfortable it felt right then. He should hate everything Eren did but he couldn’t bring himself to which confused him even more. No god could say that Levi had a problem openly showing his dislike for others, but now he couldn’t even bring himself to hate his own kidnapper. Levi wondered just how powerful Eren was.

“Why did you bring me here?” Levi asked suddenly. Eren looked a little startled at his frankness but he still maintained his smile.

“I told you before Levi, because it is good for you.” Eren said in a patient tone.

“What the hell does that mean?” Levi asked anger flaring up.

“I just mean that you can’t be happy living in the underworld if you can even call it living. You are the strongest of the gods you deserve more than a sad half-life banished to the underworld.” Erens aid passionately. It seemed that he had given a lot of thought to this. He clearly didn’t know anything about Levi’s life in the underworld if he thought Levi hated it.

“You know nothing about me or my world.” Levi said with venom. Eren shook his head in protest making his chocolate locks fall into his face.

“I have heard so much about you. I know that at first you used your power to shape the whole underworld into your image. Whenever a god or human dared to cross into your domain or go against your will, you always acted swiftly and without mercy. You used to be a force to be feared and respected. Now you spend most of your time holed up in your palace, not even attending your duties as the ruler of the underworld, passing them off to lower level demons. Even when souls were being claimed almost on a daily basis, you did nothing. Living in the underworld has sucked the life out you. Levi you are the strongest of the gods and you deserve so much more than what Erwin had given you.” Eren said eyes glazing over with an anger so intense it made Levi subconsciously shift away from Eren.

Levi had not expected that answer and was unprepared on how to response. He thought it over realizing that on most accounts Eren’s accusations were not false. When he had first taken over running the underworld he had taken an active role in running it often organizing and punishing souls himself. He was also still highly involved in the politics on Mount Olympus, but now he hardly ever left the underworld so far removed from the epicenter of action. He was the last to know when a war was breaking out or if a god was acting out. Still Eren had no way of knowing all of this if he was truly stuck in this realm.

“Even if what you say is true, how would you of all people know this?” Levi asked earning a shy look from Eren who could not meet the god’s eye. Thinking back over what Eren had said he realized something didn’t line up. “You were the one stealing souls. None of the gods knew it was happening, not even Erwin until I told him but you knew and the souls were coming to this realm.” Levi said slowly.

Eren’s reddening and inability to make eye contact assured Levi that his theory was correct. This just made Levi feel even more lost. He realized just from his eyes that Eren was not normal, but still no one should have had the power to circumvent Levi in that way. Levi opened his mouth to demand answers, but Eren volunteered.

“You have always been a special interest of mine. Erwin forcing you into the underworld just cemented my concern for you, but you still managed to rule from banishment. When you stopped appearing on Earth and Olympus I worried that the isolation had finally gotten to you so I sent souls to you with the mission of observing you. Once they had collected the information I called them back. I thought you would come raging, but you did nothing. Even I sent more and more souls only to be taken again you didn’t even consult the Fates!” Eren said indignantly. The whole time he was talking  Eren had his hands waving wildly, head shaking. He looked like a child, like he wasn’t capable of kidnapping a god.

“You thought killing people was a good way to spy on the god of the dead?” Levi said dryly. Eren gave him a sheepish look.

“I brought them back to life, so it wasn’t like I really killed anyone!” Eren insisted. Levi snorted loudly making Eren whine loudly fidgeting in his cross legged position. Without even thinking about it Levi reach out his hand and ran it through Eren’s hair which was surprisingly soft. With his hand tangled up in his hair Eren froze eyes blown wide in shock, he tilted his head into the touch. As quickly as started the touch Levi recoiled back into himself. The disappointed look on Eren’s face made Levi’s stomach churn a little bit.

“If I am stuck here, what do you plan to do with me?” Levi asked. This was the most important question at the moment, since he couldn’t really see a way out at the moment. He hated to admit it but he was going to have to rely on his demons and Erwin to notice that he was missing and realize what had happened, until then he would be at Eren’s mercy. He saw a hurt look on Eren’s face.

“I’m not going to force you to do anything.” Eren said in disappointed voice. Levi found it ironic that Eren could sit there pretending to be hurt at the accusation that he would force Levi into something he didn’t want when they were even in this realm to begin with. “I had hoped that you would want to help with the plants though.” Eren said in a tentative voice.

"Your spies must not have been very good if you thought that." Levi said. Eren looked like all hope had been sucked out of him. "But I guess I could give it a shot." Levi added in a dejected tone. There was an audible gasp before Eren threw himself at Levi wrapping his still wet hands around the god. Levi could hear him muttering thank yous quietly into his chest. Unsure of how to handle the situation Levi started not too gently patting Eren's heaving back.

Levi ended up regretting his decision to help garden almost immediately. The next day Eren had excitedly showed Levi around to realm proving to him once again how large it was. He hadn't even been able to use the time tour to scout the realm properly because Eren's enthusiasm for his plants was so intense Levi was not able to spare any attention for anything else. By the end of the day Levi was sore from walking and never wanted to see another row of corn in his life, for some strange reason Eren had felt the need to plant a field of every breed of corn on Earth so they had fields upon fields of golden corn along with red, white and blue. It was too much.

There was so much for Eren to show Levi that they couldn't actually start working on anything. At first Levi had thought Eren was going to abandon him in a field of wheat that he would never be able to found his way out of so he could tend to the crops but to his surprise Eren stuck with him the whole day. While they walked Eren would casually slip his arm through Levi's so they were walking arm and arm but Levi would quickly pull his arm away, not that, that had discouraged Eren at all. The boy would just try again the next time he thought Levi wasn't paying attention.

Over the next couple days Levi came to know why Eren was so toned. Tending to the crops was back breaking labor. Fields needed to be weeded, irrigated, picked or something equally labor intensive everyday. The longer Levi was in the realm it seemed the animal inhabitants became more comfortable with him. Eren and him would wake up before dawn to start their labor, on their walk one morning they spotted a deer munching on one of the blackberry bushes. In order to not scare the deer off Eren had made them back track around the whole blackberry patch just to avoid the single deer.

When crows started to descend on the fields of corn Levi got to witness Eren's anger again. They had abandoned their work in the other fields to build scarecrow for the corn. Levi had wanted to ask Eren why it was alright for the deer to eat his crops but not the crows especially since there was too much for for two people to eat themselves, although Levi still refused any food that came from the garden. As it turned out Eren just specifically did not want the crows to eat his corn as when they spotted the crows occupying a bean field Levi had expected Eren to have a melt down, but instead Eren just ignored them. Not for the first time Levi wondered about what living in this realm had done to Eren’s sanity.

As the sun would set Eren would lead them back to the cabin where he would prepare dinner for the both of them. They would sit facing each other Eren eating enthusiastically while Levi was tortured by the delicious smells. He was so tempted to take the food but every time he so much as glanced at anything goes Eren would stop midsentence to look at Levi in a hopeful look. It made Levi too nervous to eat the food. Food was tied to the land it came from, so eating anything that came from this realm would tie him to the realm which he was not willing to do. It was not like he need to consume food in order to live, eating was just a luxury to the gods after all. Eren did not force him to eat so he did not.

Even though Eren was the only one eating it was still him who did most of the talking over dinner. Levi would chime in and recount stories that Eren asked him to tell but he did not volunteer anything for the most part. Levi was aware at this point that Eren received no visitors so most of his talk revolved around his garden. A few times Eren mentioned having two friends but never accompanied by names so Levi assumed that Eren was either making it up to try and sound less sad or that the two friends were very intelligent animals. The more Eren talked the more Levi realized how grateful he was for his life in the underworld, even if he didn’t want them to he at least had visitors.

After dinner Eren would draw Levi a bath warming water from the pond over the fire. At first Levi had been hesitant but Eren had voluntarily retreated back into his own room and the desire to rid himself of the dirt he found himself caked in everyday won out. He would slip into the tub relaxing his sore muscles. When he was fine is he would let Eren know to release the water.

From there the two would end the day sitting in front of the fire. It got surprisingly cold at night which would explain why Eren would spend time carefully covering each flower in the garden outside the cabin each night only to repeat it the next night. Levi had taken to occupying the newer black leather chair while to his surprise Eren always chose to remain on the floor. Eren would take a blanket or two and wrap them around himself before sitting in front of the fire. Levi had suggested that Eren much be more comfortable if he chose one of the other chairs but the boy had been adamant about his spot on the floor.

One night Eren had surprised Levi by picking out a book handing it to Levi, face a little red.

"Will you read this to me?" Eren asked in a shy tone. Levi took the book, opening it. The writing was meaningless to him being an ancient unused language. Closing the book Levi shook his head handing it back to Eren who looked disappointed.

"I can't read this. Only Titans understand this." Levi said harshly making Eren flinch. He realised what he implied. "Can you read this Eren?" Levi asked curious. He still was only guessing about Eren's background so the chance to pull more information out of the boy was welcomed. Slowly, with an ashamed look Eren nodded.

"My father taught me how to read. My mother liked to have me read her these books when my father was away." Eren said in a sad voice. Without thinking Levi responded.

"Read to me." He commanded. It looked like Eren was going to protest but instead he just pulled his blankets around himself and settled himself on the floor next to Levi's chair so his was resting his arms and the book on the armrest of the chair. Slowly he started reading gaining confidence as he went on.

It was clear to Levi that the book was meant for a parent to read to their child as it explained how Gaea created the universe. The story was surprisingly kind considering Levi's vision of Titans. During the wars he had come to see Titans in their true forms of bloodthirsty tyrants that threatened the very fabric of the universe the idea that those monsters could go home to read to their children was laughable but here was proof of that.

This became a part of their routine. After Levi would bath Eren would read a story out of one of the books. It did not escape Levi how domestic the whole affair felt. It was not unlike the daily life of a human couple who would labor and live happily together. Nothing about the situation felt forced or unreal. It worried Levi how comfortable he was starting to feel around Eren. When the boy would leave him to tend to something else Levi would feel an ache in his chest that he couldn't place. At the same time though with each passing day the desire to escape grew.


	4. The Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took awhile to post. Sorry about that guys, life has been busy. I do plan on continuing this story though. 
> 
> As I went back and read the pervious chapters I am mortified by all of the horrible grammar and typos. While I can't promise anything I will say I am going to try to go back and edit them to make them more readable.

Working the fields with Eren was a strange sensation for Levi. Being the god of death Levi was not used to nurturing life, more preoccupied with what came later. The underworld was certainly not know for its luscious gardens. Initially Levi was hopeless in the garden his hands much too harsh for the delicate plants. With Eren’s guidance though Levi was beginning to get the hang of it. Still there were a few plants that levi was not allowed touch for fear of killing them by accident.

They had spent the entirety of the morning in the apple orchard picking apples, Eren mentioning something about wanting to bake a pie. Clouds had been forming over head all morning signally that it was about to storm, but Eren paid no mind to the warnings. Levi doubted that Eren cared about the rain only seeing the benefits that it would give his plants. The two were silent as they worked. It would be hard to talk anyway considering their positions. Eren had shimmied his way up a tree quite gracefully showing off his hard worked body in the process. Levi was in position under the tree waiting for Eren to pull the best fruit from the top of the tree and toss the, down to him.

“So this is where you have been.” A voice that Levi knew well said.

The god turned to see the King of the gods standing before him looking extremely out of place in the orchid. He was dressed in his normal white tunic ornately decorated with gold trim matching the flowing golden cap that fluttered in the slight wind. His golden aura shining brightly in the dark weather producing more light than the sun. He looked pristine and out of place in the dirty garden. Levi was never happier to see his old friend.

“Not by choice.” Levi said in a bitter tone leaning the almost full basket of apples on his hip. Erwin frowned at the basket.

“So I take it you’ve met Eren.” Erwin said a strange look on his face.

“It would be kind of hard not to.” Levi said rolling his eyes. An apple came falling out of the tree, Levi put his hand out to catch it throwing it into the basket. Erwin looked up into the tree with an amused look on his face.

“Who are you talking to? Have you finally accepted the deers as friends? I told you if you offered them food they would accept you into the herd.” Eren said with a laugh, Levi gave a cough of a laugh at that. He saw Erwin raise an eyebrow in question, Levi shrugged it off. There was a rustling of branches and they saw Eren drop out of the tree landing on all fours gracefully. The demigod stood up slowly eyes on Erwin.

“Hello Eren.” Erwin said with a smile. Eren took a step back eyes blown wide in surprise. Levi was sure that Eren was not used to getting guests all the way out here and certainly not the King of the gods himself.

“Hey Erwin. You haven’t been here in awhile.” Eren said quietly as he shuffled toward Levi clearly threatened by the admittedly intimidating god.

“I’m sorry about that Eren, I know how lonely you get but things have been tense to say the least on Olympus.” Erwin said with a laugh. Eren fidgeted. He was standing so close to Levi at this point that when he moved he accidently knocked into Levi’s broad chest.

“It’s alright I have had company.” Eren said sarcastically. Erwin snorted at that.

“It appears as if it going to rain.” Erwin said, head tilted toward the sky. Eren’s untrusting eyes never left Erwin, but he nodded in agreement.

“It is supposed to be a big one.” Eren said.

Levi started to grow agitated with all the small talk. It seemed neither was going to address the issue of his kidnapping.  He had expected Erwin to rescue him but here he was discussing the weather. A cawing of a crow caught Levi’s attention. He looked toward the top of the apple tree Eren had just occupied now covered in the crows that hung around the garden. Quickly looking around Levi noticed that many of the animals that took up residence in the garden were starting to gather at the fringes of the orchid. They remained apart from the gods, but still were visible just in the corner of your eye. A chill went down Levi’s spine. Had Eren called them?

“I think it would be best to move this inside.” Erwin said looking into Eren’s eyes, the brunette nodded in agreement.

They managed to beat the storm getting back to the cabin the rain starting to beat against the windows. Once inside the house Levi could tell how uncomfortable Eren was with being boxed in. Ever since Eren had assessed Levi’s flight risk to be low they had spent most of their time outside of the little cabin. Out in the garden Eren was full of life and smiles. Now Eren looked like a disobedient puppy waiting to get scolded by its owner. The demigod was pacing the tiny kitchen visibly agitated. Levi had immediately gone to his usual chair by the fire internally cursing himself at how well he had been trained. Erwin had chosen to sit at the table. The tension was almost unbearable.

“Are you going to offer me a cup of tea?” Erwin asked finally.

Going off of the look on Eren’s face the demigod seemed to want to refuse, but one could not simply refuse a request from the King of the gods. The boy moved around the kitchen preparing the tea; he seemed a little more relaxed now that he had been given a task, maybe that had been Erwin’s intention. Once the tea was ready he offered a cup to Levi who refused, and placed Erwin’s in front of the god before proceeding to sit across from the blond god with his own cup of tea. Undoubtedly the leaves for the tea came out of the garden cared for tenderly by Eren and more recently Levi. There was silence again while Erwin sipped his tea and Eren fiddled with his cup.

“Why do you think I came to visit you today, Eren?” Erwin finally asked.

It was like Erwin was being purposefully delicate with Eren which made Levi shift uncomfortably. Erwin was naturally a manipulative person and Levi liked to think at this point he could see through Erwin normal bullshit and found none of it here, Erwin was being sincere in his cautiousness. Over the couple of weeks he had spent with Eren, Levi had come to see first hand that the boy was powerful and could be dangerous but had not expected to be such a threat that Erwin himself would need to be on the defense.

“Because you feel guilty about trapping me here alone?” Eren spit back in a bitter tone looking down into his cup.

That piqued Levi's interest. He knew that Eren was trapped here just as much as he was but he didn't know by who or why, he had his suspensions but now might be when he could confirm them. If this went all the way to Erwin that meant Eren was a much bigger deal than Levi had initially thought. Erwin sighed heavily.

"We have talked about that Eren." Erwin said with a tone that struggled to keep the frustration out. "I am here to discuss your guest."  Eren flinched at that. "You have to let Levi go." Erwin said sternly like a parent trying to discipline a child.

Eren looked between Erwin and Levi. "No." Eren said folding his arms across his chest like a stubborn child. Levi wanted to bash his head against the wall. That was Erwin's plan to get him out here, just asking. He could of told the blonde the futility of that plan.

"It wasn't a request Eren." Erwin said his aura flashing dangerously, Eren own aura deepened to match. Levi tensed in his seat ready to jump in if this came to a fight.

"That doesn’t change my answer, no. As long as Levi is in this realm I have the ability to keep him here. You can not bully me into letting him go. I am not going to let you do the same thing to Levi that you did to me." Eren said voice rising with each word. Levi had only seen Eren get angry when he tried to escape and couldn’t stop the pang of fear that the dangerous look in Eren’s eyes shot through his body. He knew that Eren had nothing to lose which made him dangerous.

"It isn't the same thing." Erwin said frustratedly. He put his cup down on the table carefully, like he was bidding time to figure out the right words to say.  "Levi chose to become the ruler of the underworld and as such he has certain duties and responsibilities which you are keeping him from completing.” Erwin explained. Chose might be a strong word to describe how Levi became the kind of the underworld, but Eren didn’t need to know that.

“We both know that Levi has been shrinking off his duties long before I enter the picture. There are other demons to handle things just as they did when Levi was there.” Eren countered.

"You would be surprised how quickly things fall when a king is away." Erwin said. Levi had, had enough. It was like the two had forgotten that he was even there.

"If you two are done talking about me like I'm not even here," Levi said making Eren give him a guilty look, "what is hell is happening to my realm?" Levi growled dangerously.

"It seems the spirits are in some sort of revolt." Erwin explained turning in his seat to address the god of death. "Petra and the others are managing as well as can be expected but they need their ruler and all of the strength and magic that comes with that." Erwin said looking at Eren for that last sentence.

"I didn't think anything would happen." Eren whispered more to himself than anyone else. Of course he hadn’t meant for anything to happen, Eren had no experience outside of the garden, he could never understand the consequences of his actions. The more Levi got to know Eren the more he realized while the brat was brash and over zealous, he was not malicious.

"What is the spirit's' goal?" Levi asked already in battle mode.

"It appears as if they wish to return to this world. The disturbance you spoke to me about before Levi, about the spirits being freed from the underworld has stirred them into rebellion trying to get their own liberation." Erwin explained. Levi saw Eren's face pale. "Hanji and the others are overwhelmed. They have done their best to keep them at bay but a few have managed to slip through the cracks making it the land of the living. Those without bodies to return to have taken to stealing the bodies of innocents." Erwin concluded.

It seemed like Eren's scheme had many unintentional consequences that a mere boy could never have predicted. This just cemented Levi's desire to get back to the underworld. The idea of spirits returning from the dead was unacceptable. Levi was already planning his counter attack as if he had already gain his freedom.

"Maybe I can-" Eren started but Erwin cut him off.

"You have already done enough Eren. Let us take care of the rest." Erwin said firmly but still kindness was in his voice.

Eren nodded meekly. Levi almost felt bad for the demigod. It was clear that he felt remorse for what he had done and was willing to do what is necessary to make things right again. Still It could have all been prevented by simply not kidnapping him in the first place. He looked now at the brunette, slouching down into his seat pain and guilt written all over his face. He had his thumb in his mouth biting down on his nail. Looking like this Eren seemed incapable of doing all he had done, he just looked like a lost child.

"Eren, I need you undone the enchantments you have placed on Levi." Erwin pushed gently waking Eren from his reprieve. Levi stood up at this. He figured Eren had done something to him to prevent him from leaving and was intrigued by the magic of Erwin himself couldn't even reverse it.

"Of course." Eren said in a sad voice. He stood approaching Levi where he sat, where they had spent so many nights. Placing a hand out Eren's aura flickered for a moment before becoming unbearably bright, Levi had to look away. Eren's hand grasped his chin though and forced Levi to look into those haunting eyes. He felt something warm filling his body and then it was gone and Eren was back to normal.

"There. Now he can pass through the forest." Eren said bitterly letting go of Levi.

The god of death felt unnaturally cold. It wasn't like the cold he had become used to in the underworld. This cold left him feeling drained and empty, like he was missing something that made him whole. He wondered not for the first time what Eren had done to him. Erwin still remained in his chair looking intrigued.

"How is it that you were able to keep him here?" Erwin asked curiosity evident.

"A good magician never reveals his secrets." Eren said flatly.

"Eren" Erwin growled.

"I connected our souls so anytime he neared the edge of the realm the forest would think he was me." Eren explained like it was nothing.

"Interfering with someone’s soul is very complex magic.  Who taught you this?" Levi asked. Eren mumbled an answer into his shoulder not meeting Levi's eyes. "What?"  Levi asked irritated.

"I said my father taught me!" Eren said a little too loudly. His face went red, looking away again. It was Titan magic, that explained a lot and why Eren was so embarrassed. While enough time had passed for humans to forget about the horrors of Titans, it was not so long in the memories of the gods. Anything associated with Titans was taboo.

Erwin stood up from the table draining the last of his tea. He casually strode over to where Eren stood.

“We will be taking our leave now.” Erwin said clapping a hand onto Eren’s shoulder josling the dazed brunette. “I will be back to visit you soon and I will send for your friends in the meantime.” Erwin said with a good natured smiled that assured that everything would return to normal. All Eren could do was nod.

Satisfied Erwin motioned for Levi to follow him out of the cabin. At the door Levi looked back and saw Eren standing motionless beside the chair where Levi had sat, the light from his lost. The desire to say something was strong but the words got stuck in Levi’s throat. Unable to communicate Levi just closed the door and followed behind the blonde god. He thought he could hear sobs coming from the open window but kept moving choosing not to think about it.

The rain felt surprisingly nice as the two walked toward the forest. Leave could feel the eyes of the animals on him as they walked. A few crows flew overhead cawing, circling over the gods as they walked. Erwin seemed oblivious to it all unfazed as ever but Levi found himself affected.

When they neared the forest’s edge Levi had to hold his breath the fear that he would not be able to pass through. The forest was no less intimidating with knowledge that the enchantment was gone. It seemed that  Erwin had no such hesitation confidently striding into the murky woods. Taking a step forward Levi followed into the forest. It seemed Eren had told the truth when removing the spell as Levi had no issues passing through the forest.

“We should head to Olympus to plan our counterstrike.” Erwin said as they exited the forest already moving onto the next piece of business. Levi nodded in agreement. He did not want to walk unprepared into a battle with spirits.

“I noticed you never tried to reason that it was wrong to keep me there against my will, would that have been too hypocritical to use?” Levi said with a sneer when they arrived at Mount Olympus. Erwin climbed the stairs to his throne collapsing into it.

“Are you really going to complain about the way I saved you, which I haven’t heard a thank you for by the way” Erwin said giving Levi an amused looked, who glared in response.

“It took you long enough.” Levi huffed. Erwin sat up in his throne.

“I want you to know that I came for you as soon as I heard you were missing. It wasn’t until the underworld went to shit that anyone noticed that you were missing.” Erwin said cutting Levi. Living in the underworld for so long, Levi was used to being forgotten and hated but he thought someone would notice that he went missing.

“What will happen to Eren?” Levi said changing the subject to one he was more comfortable with.

“He will stay where he is. He can’t leave as you witnessed so you do not need to worry about him coming for you again.” Erwin assured.

This didn’t sit well with Levi, the idea of Eren being trapped there now entirely alone. He wasn’t entirely sure why he cared, but something about the whole encounter struck accord with Levi. While the garden was beautiful and felt endless it was still a prison built especially for Eren. The boy was clearly powerful that wasn’t a good enough reason to lock someone up in itself.

“Why are you keeping him there? That boy doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body. Who is he a danger to?” Levi asked taking a few steps up toward Erwin’s throne.

“You wouldn’t understand Levi. It is best to leave this alone and forget about Eren.” Erwin tried waving the problem away annoying Levi.

“How can you say that to me after all of this? I think I have a right to know what is going on.” Levi growled turning on his friend. Erwin swiftly stood up from his throne taking a few strides so he was leaning over Levi who stood his ground.

“The universe has grown a lot since you shut yourself up in your castle refusing to do even your basic duties. Somethings are beyond the reaches of of death. You have enough to worry about in the underworld right, trust me to deal with the rest. When you need to know, you will know” Erwin said clapping a hand on Levi’s shoulder. There was a time when that would have been enough to put Levi’s mind at a tentative ease, but now he wasn’t sure. Still he did not have the luxury to dwell on this matter for long; he had to deal with Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I don't think I write serious stuff well so feedback would be nice!
> 
> My tumblr is awildtitanappears.tumblr.com


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